July 22, 2008

The Domain of Mushrooms – raleighnature.com

We have had plentiful rain, in the short run, at least, and when I saw a couple of mushrooms in a row I decided to go on a mushroom walk. Not much to say: I am blogging from the library on a timeclock and I don’t know anything about mushroom i.d. Here they are and we’ll sort them out later. But what a variety! And what change in any one over time….now I’ve had time to look at my National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms – and I’m not about to tell you a positive i.d. on any mushroom! Don’t eat any of them!! Unless you are an expert or with an expert. I will try some if T.P. or Katie and Russ have some to share, but I sure don’t trust my judgment. Fun to watch, though. And remind yourself the mushrooms we see are just the fruiting body (spore producer) of the fungus organism – a whole network of tiny filaments in the ground or, more likely, in the dead plant material, especially wood.

Mushrooms are in the kingdom of Fungi in the domain of Eukarya.

NEWS: This blog is now published at the domain www.raleighnature.com and has moved from it’s old site. If you have the old netweed/raleighnature url as a favorite or on your blogroll, I would greatly appreciate you updating it.